Bonita was designed by William Crossfield and built in his yard at Arnside, Cumbria in 1888. This occasional blog describes some of her adventures - including her 2013 circumnavigation of Britain and Baltic cruise of 2016.

Wednesday, 24 April 2013

2 days until the shakedown passage to the Solent....

Time to leave the boatyard and head out for the great wide world......or as a first installment, out into the river Swale anyway!This requires a little mental effort as the yard seems comfortable and safe. There is a well stocked chandlers and a pub within easy walking distance. There is also mains water, electricity and clean(ish) toilets. There are lots of interesting boat restoration projects to look at in various stages of hope or despair. What more can a troubled sailor ask for? The river here never gets rough, and indeed at low tide there is hardly any river. Many boats and their owners get cosseted by these simple luxuries and seem never to leave the yard at all. However today we had sun, a pleasant SW wind force 3-4 and it was time to leave the yard and negotiate the meandering channel of Faversham creek and out to Bonitas mooring on the Swale to await further developments. Laying nicely to the tide on a secure mooring....